Chapter 11
Thea woke in new surroundings. Pushing up, she eyed the room. The place was nice. It looked like a fancy motel room. On a table beside the bed was a phone. She picked it up and on a hunch dialed zero, six. The phone beeped, and then a voice answered, “Crow’s Nest. This is Cindy.”
Aaaah. A suite in StoneCrow Manor. “Sorry. I must have misdialed.”
“That’s alright,” Cindy responded and hung up.
Okay, she knew where she was. Looking down she took stock of herself trying to figure out how she was. Definitely sore in delicious places. Her cheeks stung with the hard blush that took her. She remembered trying to outlast the “heat”—as doc Jenny called it—but resistance had been futile. She’d only made it two hours on pain meds and then the rest of the night had been agony. It had felt like her skin was being raked with razor blades, and it had taken every single ounce of her being to keep from begging them to call Marko. Yeah, and that only lasted until about dawn. Finally, when it felt like her insides were being ripped out, she’d begged for him. By then, the pain had been too much, and she’d tried to actually get off the bed to go find him. Jenny had screamed for help, and Stoney rushed the room with a male nurse. The second the guy's hands touched Thea, her body had convulsed, and she’d dry heaved. It took them all a minute to figure out the male’s touch was making things worse. By that time, she was outright screaming for Marko. It’d seemed so urgent then, but now she felt humiliated. Everyone in the infirmary had to have heard her. Slumping back on the bed, she curled into a tight little ball and hid her face in her hands.
What in the actual fuck is going on? Jenny had tried to explain the medical nuances of what was happening, but with the heat pulsing through her, Thea had only picked up bits and pieces. All she knew for certain was that this wasn’t supposed to last. Jenny had said it had come and gone in other women who’d been subjected to the same tranq. When there’d been a resurgence, Jenny hadn’t been able to hide her shock and worry. Thea knew that the drug was affecting her differently than it had affected the other women and right now she was worried that there’d be permanent damage.
Her thoughts shot to Marko. Poor guy. How long could Jenny expect him to…to…service her?
Thea remembered how he’d been with her. Gentle. He’d been gentler than she’d known he was capable of. He also seemed to enjoy their encounters, but it didn’t change the fact that they’d been forced into coupling. Worse, how was she supposed to face him and act like nothing had happened? He’d fucked her seven ways from Sunday and even now just thinking about it had her temperature rising.
STOP!
Sitting up, Thea took stock of herself. She felt okay. The heat was pulsing through her again with that too familiar pounding need, but it was a dull ache, not an intense demand. She actually felt fairly decent and knew she needed to seize the rare opportunity. She was up and showering in a flash. Okay, flash probably wasn’t the right term considering she moved about the bathroom like she’d had the stuffing kicked out of her. Still, when she finally made it under the spray of hot water, it felt divine.
Hair washed, body scrubbed, teeth minty fresh, she found clothes in the dressers in the room. Someone must have brought the items from the infirmary because while everything was in her size, the articles were all utilitarian white cotton. Nothing fancy here. Funny though, there was only underwear, pajamas, or sweats. Not a single pair of jeans or actual shirts were in any of the drawers.
Dressed in a pair of sweatpants and matching tank top, Thea squirmed as the matching bra and panty set she wore rubbed against her still sensitized skin. Ignoring it, she paced to the bedroom door and took several steadying breaths before she finally found the courage to pull the door open.
Stepping out into the sitting room, she braced for the awkward encounter she knew was coming. It didn’t happen.
“Hello?” she called out and felt equal amounts of relief and disappointment at realizing she was alone in the suite.
Alone? That didn’t seem right. She’d been in agony down in the infirmary, and Doc Jenny had seemed adamant about figuring out what in the hell had been pumped into her and how to counter it.
Counter it. That’s it! Jenny must have found a cure! It was the only thing that made sense. Jenny had healed her, and because the beds were needed down in the infirmary, she’d been moved up to a suite…right?
Walking to the small island that served as the only dining area in the small open floor plan, Thea expected to find a note with instructions, or at least something. There wasn’t anything. And after a thorough search of the suite, she didn’t find a single note or anything directing her that she needed to go back to see Jenny for follow up. Admittedly, it stung. She felt like a part of the StoneCrow family and to be sloughed off to some suite to simply sleep it off felt…well, it felt like shit!
Turning, she eyed the phone and debated calling down to the infirmary to check in. She just as quickly discarded the idea when she realized that if they’d needed or wanted her to check in, they’d have left some directive to do so.
Annoyed, pissed, and feeling abandoned, Thea scoured the suite for shoes. She only found slippers and resigned herself to the fact that they’d have to do. She was going home.